By John Ruhl

American Bar Association President Michael S. Greco will deliver the keynote address at the Washington Summit on Judicial Selection and Judicial Independence on November 11 at Seattle University Law School.

The Summit presents a timely opportunity to address such concerns as the increasingly partisan nature of judicial campaigns in Washington; the escalating costs of funding judicial elections; the lack of judicial campaign financing limits; the growing amount of special-interest money being injected into judicial races; the relative shortage of useful information available to voters regarding judicial candidates and the difficulties in ferreting out such information; and the skewing of voting results by irrelevant factors such as ballot placement and names of judicial candidates.

The day-long program will explore ways the bar, the public and the judiciary can work together to protect judges from undue influence in elections; preserve the appearance of fairness in the judicial selection process; and enhance the public’s confidence in Washington’s judiciary during a time of increasingly harsh criticism of state and federal judges. Other topics will include an overview of judicial selection in other states; a review of Washington Supreme Court elections for the past 25 years; a panel discussion presenting diverse views on whether change is needed; a media panel; small workshops in which the Summit participants can voice their views about the ideas earlier presented; and a final session to report on the workshop discussions.

The Summit is co-sponsored by the King County Bar Association, Seattle University School of Law and several other civic organizations and bar associations. Honorary co-chairs are former Sen. Slade Gorton and former Gov. Gary Locke.

The Summit will take the place of KCBA’s annual Bench-Bar Conference. Invitations to the Summit have been extended to members of the Washington Legislature; judges from all levels of the Washington court system; leaders and representatives of the civic organizations and the state and local bar associations co-sponsoring the Summit; editorial-board writers and other media representatives; and many other concerned citizens from around the state.

Due to space limitations, the attendance at the Summit initially was limited to 115. Registrations are being accepted, however, for additional seating in an adjacent room with live video feed and microphones for attendees. To register, contact Julie Gardner at the King County Bar Association, 206-267-7013. The $25 registration fee includes lunch.